Colgate India gets ’True Zero Waste Certification’

Hyderabad, May 17: Colgate India, the first Indian company, has received True Zero Waste Platinum certification, for all its four manufacturing plants in the country, from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), the premier organization independently recognizing excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally.

All the four manufacturing plants of Colgate India - Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Goa, Sanand (Gujarat), and also at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh - have achieved ‘ Platinum’ , the highest level of certification, the company claimed in a release here on Friday.

In order to achieve True Zero Waste certification, Colgate India not only implemented the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle principle, but also diverted waste, which would have otherwise gone to a landfill, through processes like Composting, Zero Waste Purchasing, Hazardous Waste Prevention, Redesigning, Innovation, Employee Trainings to bring about an attitudinal change.

An in-house Green Team encouraged employees at all four Colgate plants to actively think of diverting waste at every possible step, which led to a lot of new ideas. GBCI administers True Zero Waste certification, a program for businesses to assess performance in reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency.

Facilities earn True certification by achieving minimum program requirements and attaining points; the program operates on a ranking system, with ‘Platinum’ being the highest certification level. The True Zero Waste certification program is meant to enable facilities to define, pursue and achieve their zero waste goals, cutting their carbon footprint and supporting public health.

True-certified spaces support sustainability and facilities that achieve the highest level of the rating system are acknowledged for minimizing their waste to landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) or to the environment. Mr. Issam Bachaalani, Managing Director, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said, “At Colgate India, we have been constantly practicing the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle principle across all our plants and offices. We have built dedicated teams to encourage and educate employees on minimizing waste, and to implement measures that could bring about that change.

Zero waste is an important part of any company’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility strategy,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI.

Colgate-Palomolive’s dedication to pursuing True certification at their four manufacturing plants in India brings us closer to becoming a zero waste community that’s healthier for all. True-certified facilities are enviromentally responsible, more resource efficient and help turn waste into savings.

Colgate-Palmolive for leadership in improving their performance and implementing zero waste strategies, and for helping us build a sustainable future for all.

The Colgate-Palmolive Company has adopted a global goal to earn True Zero Waste certification for all of its manufacturing facilities, with ‘Colgate India’ a leader among the company’s businesses.

Currently, 18 Colgate-Palmolive sites across the world , have completed or are working toward certification - more projects in more regions than any other company, the release said. (UNI)